There's been a lot of talk regarding the palace in Jerryworld and the weather in Dallas and team photos and so on, but one the biggest discussions has been regarding the two opposing QB's in Super Bowl 45.
Aaron Rodgers vs. Ben Roethlisberger
This match up has been dissected non stop across all platforms of the media and some people are going as far to say that this match up will be one of the best Super Bowl QB match ups ever and could potentially be the best match up between mobile quarterbacks in Super Bowl history.
I enjoy hearing conversation like this because it's far more entertaining than pondering how late Big Ben was up on Tuesday night.
This debate has boiled down to a couple general thoughts:
1) Big Ben is a stronger, tougher quarterback and Arron Rodgers is a faster QB with a better arm.
2) Big Ben is the better QB because of his two Super Bowl rings.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Let's slow down here a second and think about number two for a minute. I understand the insistence on labeling anyone with multiple Super Bowl rings as the best ever, but how about we only do that when it's warranted.
I have nothing but respect for what Ben has done in this league after being a big fish in a small pond at the Miami of Ohio, and he couldn't have been drafted by a better organization than the Steelers, but honestly how much of Ben's success can be attributed to him and how much of it is the team's philosophy?
If you look at Ben's best years offensively, last season and 2007 and if you look at those years results wise for the Steelers, well they didn't make the playoffs last season and in '07 the were ousted at home by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the wild-card round.
The Steelers rely on a hard nosed defense and a run first mentally, an approach that Big Ben has feasted on his entire career. In the Super Bowl's that he's won, he was both terrible against the Seahawks and fortunate that the Arizona defense in the final minute of that game became as laughable as it was.
Big Ben definitely deserves credit anyway you slice it, but he is not hands down the better QB.
Aaron Rodgers is his first three seasons as Packers QB has been way better than Big Ben, but that's a push since Aaron had time to sit and Ben was immediately thrown into the fire.
If you compare the last three years from the two QB's since they both hover around the same age, Big Ben has been average to good in those seasons and Aaron Rodgers has been consistently amongst the best QB's in the game.
If not for a utterly miserable defensive performance last year against the Cardinals in the first round of the playoffs, Green Bay could have challenged the Saints and made a nice postseason run.
There's no doubt that these two are two of the best, but when you look at Rodgers' situation compared to what Ben has done to himself in Pittsburgh (sans this season's redemption), his head being in the game has sometimes been a question, whereas Rodgers has always been there and for the most part been better and has the better tools in his arsenal.
Rodgers is averaging over 4,000 yards passing a season and 28 TDs in his last three seasons to go with a 64% completion percentage.
Roethlisberger on the other hand is averaging 3,609 yards per game in the last three seasons and 20 TDs to go with a 62% completion percentage. It's certainly not bad, but clearly not better. I think people need to stop letting Super Bowl rings determine the talent level of certain players, it's never that clear cut.
Photos Courtesy Sports Illustrated and ESPN
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